"Customer Management with MS Solutions"... TrueInfo Chosen by Large Corporations

Interview with Shin Suwon, CEO of TrueInfo
Building MS Business Solution 'Dynamics 365'
Helping Develop Customized Services for Clients

Microsoft Korea (MS) holds the annual 'Korea Solution Partner Awards' to recognize partners who have built innovative services for domestic customers based on MS technologies. This year, Trueinfo was selected as the top partner in the Business Applications category. Trueinfo provides business solutions to clients by utilizing MS's business sales management system, Dynamics 365.

Founded in 2009, Trueinfo is the only officially recognized business solution partner of MS in Korea. While there are many partner companies handling MS solutions domestically, Trueinfo is the only one that directly discusses sales management and shares information with MS. To be recognized as an official MS partner, several conditions must be met. These include meeting performance criteria and passing exams conducted by MS to assess understanding of their solutions. Candidates must pass subject-specific tests such as sales management and chat settings, and the number of certified personnel must exceed certain thresholds.

On the 20th of last month, TrueInfo received the 'Top Partner in Business Applications' award at the '2024 Korea Solution Partner Awards' hosted by Microsoft Korea. On the right is Shin Suwon, CEO of TrueInfo.
[Photo by TrueInfo]

Shin Suwon, CEO of Trueinfo, recently explained in an interview with Asia Economy, "We were able to achieve good results as an MS solution partner because we did not spare internal investments." He added, "When looking only at personnel specializing in Dynamics 365, Trueinfo is the largest among domestic companies," and said, "There are very few companies that integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into business solutions for consulting, which I believe contributed to our award this year." Trueinfo has been striving to develop its services by expanding its work scope, actively integrating AI into solutions beyond just Dynamics 365.

The MS Dynamics 365 that Trueinfo consults on is an MS business service that helps companies easily manage data by utilizing MS applications such as Teams and Outlook. When employees input data into the system, they can handle materials conveniently on an organized platform without the hassle of multiple searches.

Major domestic conglomerates such as SK Hynix and LG Group have undertaken projects to implement Dynamics 365 into their sales systems through Trueinfo. According to CEO Shin, after some departments adopted the system and experienced the convenience of Dynamics 365, many companies plan to expand the system to all departments. Although specific productivity improvement figures per company are not available, MS states on its website that using Dynamics 365 can reduce sales data reporting time by 60%, save $1.5 million by improving supply chain efficiency, and increase finance team productivity by up to 55%.

Starting as an MS Solution Partner... Competitiveness Increased with Azure-Based Solutions

Trueinfo was born as a specialized MS solution consulting firm. CEO Shin, who was operating LG Telecom’s cyber customer center, recognized the potential of business solutions early and began his career as a solution consultant. At that time, most customer management in Korea was done using Excel, but he anticipated the era of companies using their own systems would soon arrive.

Since the 2020s, with the spotlight on generative AI and cloud businesses, that prediction has proven accurate. CEO Shin explained that demand for MS business systems has greatly increased based on MS’s own cloud, Azure. The cloud sector is broadly divided into three categories: Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS). Azure in Dynamics 365 is a PaaS. PaaS provides servers and modules necessary for software development together, allowing users to create and use their own services. In addition to existing AI functions, companies can develop services tailored to their specific characteristics.

TrueInfo is the only MS Business Solution Partner officially recognized by MS in Korea.
[Photo by TrueInfo]

Among the many functions of MS Dynamics 365, Trueinfo focuses its consulting on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). CRM not only manages current customer information but also discovers potential customers to gain sales opportunities. It allows sales strategies to be formulated by understanding customer characteristics such as sales history. CEO Shin explained, "There have been almost no successful cases of CRM implementation in Korea," adding, "The process of entering customer information had too many steps, so people tended not to use it."

With a strong interest in CRM, he naturally formed a partnership with MS. Competitors in the cloud business, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Workspace, do not offer CRM solutions. MS partners are categorized by levels, and companies that declare they will consult on MS solutions such as Dynamics 365 immediately become general partners. Trueinfo was recognized as an official MS business solution partner last year, sharing sales opportunities with MS for the first time in its 13 years since establishment.

The Era of AI-Driven Sales Management... "Services That Team Members Feel Are Innovative"

CEO Shin anticipates that the emergence of MS’s generative AI assistant service, Copilot, will allow Dynamics 365-based business solutions to develop infinitely. He especially expects synergy when combined with MS’s office service, MS 365. He stated, "With AI, it is possible to create a completed presentation by inputting text in Word and receive summarized minutes of meetings held via Teams," adding, "When AI is integrated with the connectivity between Dynamics 365 and M365, a powerful MS business solution will be born."

His goal is to create a CRM system using MS solutions that team members feel is innovative. CEO Shin said, "Current CRM systems have been more advantageous for team leaders to manage sales rather than for team members," and added, "I want to create a service that users feel has dramatically improved in a 'bottom-up' way, rather than the current 'top-down' format."